Hey all,
The good news is that my other half has finally given me permission to set up a reef tank, so I'm starting to give some thoughts to the various pieces I need to get together and general plan.
My general goal is to set up a 155G drilled bowfront with probably a 40L as a under-tank sump. While I don't really need the sump for a reef tank, it's nice to put the skimmer, heaters, etc out of sight, and I can set up a refugium there as well. I figure to use a pair of submersible pumps in the sump as the return; two for redundancy and submersible to save some plumbing hassles.
In order to save a few bucks, my plan is to stock the tank with about 50 to 60 lbs of live rock and about 50 to 60 lbs of base rock. I also will plop in about 50 lbs of live sand and do the rest up with southdown (if I can get it) or play sand. Allowing the base rock and sterile sand to grow live also gives me a bit of a DiY feel, since my carpentry skills aren't that great.
My goal is to stock each end of the tank with live rock and have about a 2ft section in the middle that is sand-only, save maybe a large rock or some solitude corals (which is why the above only calls for 100-120lbs of rock total). I think it will also lead to a place where you'll be able to watch non-fish critters crawl along in the open.
I'll probably purchase a pre-made stand and canopy rather than try to make my own - my carpentry skills aren't that great.
There are two places I'm a little confused on my various options, though.
1) Lighting: I'm really not sure how much of what kind of lighting I need to get for a tank like this. I know this is an expensive part and I'm willing to spend the money, but I don't want to overdo it. At the same time, my electrical skills are as lousy as my carpentry, so I'm a little wary of assembling my own ballasts and such. Any advice here would be REALLY appreciated.
2) Skimmers: My plan is to get a submersible of some kind to put into the 40L sump. Any recommendations on a good make and model for a tank of this size? I've looked at several and after a few they all start to look alike and my eyes go buggy.
---
Finally, I need some ideas on fishes. Currently I have a 120G community freshwater tank which we love (nothing like a school of 40 neons). In general, we'd like a similiar-themed marine tank; lots of smaller friendly fishes with maybe one to three showpiece larger fish (for example a tang), instead of a few guys that don't get along with anyone. Add to that an array of shrimps, starfish, and your requisite cleanup crew. Obviously, fish densities in a marine tank cannot be what they are in a freshwater tank.
Any thoughts here on what types of fishes might make for a good "community" marine tank?
Thanks all.
The good news is that my other half has finally given me permission to set up a reef tank, so I'm starting to give some thoughts to the various pieces I need to get together and general plan.
My general goal is to set up a 155G drilled bowfront with probably a 40L as a under-tank sump. While I don't really need the sump for a reef tank, it's nice to put the skimmer, heaters, etc out of sight, and I can set up a refugium there as well. I figure to use a pair of submersible pumps in the sump as the return; two for redundancy and submersible to save some plumbing hassles.
In order to save a few bucks, my plan is to stock the tank with about 50 to 60 lbs of live rock and about 50 to 60 lbs of base rock. I also will plop in about 50 lbs of live sand and do the rest up with southdown (if I can get it) or play sand. Allowing the base rock and sterile sand to grow live also gives me a bit of a DiY feel, since my carpentry skills aren't that great.
My goal is to stock each end of the tank with live rock and have about a 2ft section in the middle that is sand-only, save maybe a large rock or some solitude corals (which is why the above only calls for 100-120lbs of rock total). I think it will also lead to a place where you'll be able to watch non-fish critters crawl along in the open.
I'll probably purchase a pre-made stand and canopy rather than try to make my own - my carpentry skills aren't that great.
There are two places I'm a little confused on my various options, though.
1) Lighting: I'm really not sure how much of what kind of lighting I need to get for a tank like this. I know this is an expensive part and I'm willing to spend the money, but I don't want to overdo it. At the same time, my electrical skills are as lousy as my carpentry, so I'm a little wary of assembling my own ballasts and such. Any advice here would be REALLY appreciated.
2) Skimmers: My plan is to get a submersible of some kind to put into the 40L sump. Any recommendations on a good make and model for a tank of this size? I've looked at several and after a few they all start to look alike and my eyes go buggy.
---
Finally, I need some ideas on fishes. Currently I have a 120G community freshwater tank which we love (nothing like a school of 40 neons). In general, we'd like a similiar-themed marine tank; lots of smaller friendly fishes with maybe one to three showpiece larger fish (for example a tang), instead of a few guys that don't get along with anyone. Add to that an array of shrimps, starfish, and your requisite cleanup crew. Obviously, fish densities in a marine tank cannot be what they are in a freshwater tank.
Any thoughts here on what types of fishes might make for a good "community" marine tank?
Thanks all.
